I got this heavenly dip recipe from my Aunt D. It is delicious with fruit- apples, grapes, pineapple, kiwi, etc.!
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
7.5 oz jar of marshmallow creme
1/2 t. lemon extract or 1 t. lemon zest (I prefer the extract, so I don't have the bits of zest in my creamy heaven)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
Blend all ingredients together and keep chilled until you're ready to DEVOUR it. Serve with apples, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, blueberries, etc.
Cook's note: Too sweet for you? Leave out or reduce the powdered sugar so it's just how you like it.
Updated 8.25.13
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Fluffernutter Fudge
If anyone out there does NOT know what "fluffernutter" means, you are not alone. Until I moved back here I'd never heard of it. Maybe it's not specifically East Coast, but more just the combination of Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Creme, which I'd never placed together until I met my husband. It's one of his favorite sandwiches- PB & Marshmallow Creme, with the occasional banana. Anyway, I renamed this recipe as Fluffernutter Fudge because I didn't realize there are regular PB Fudge recipes WITHOUT marshmallow creme. Anyway, it is super delicious and not healthy at all. That's why it's one of those "seasonal, holiday treats." :)
2 c. creamy peanut butter
1- 7.5 oz jar marshmallow creme
4 c. sugar
2 T. butter
1 t. Vanilla
1 c. + 3T. evaporated milk
1. Dump PB & marshmallow creme in a BIG mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Place all other ingredients in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes, and stir occasionally. Then pour over PB & creme mixture. Stir thoroughly until all the solid components are melted.
3. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and chill at least 2-3 hours. (As you can see, this makes a HUGE recipe. So there is plenty to share. Your neighbors, friends and family will love (and hate) ;) you for it.)
2 c. creamy peanut butter
1- 7.5 oz jar marshmallow creme
4 c. sugar
2 T. butter
1 t. Vanilla
1 c. + 3T. evaporated milk
1. Dump PB & marshmallow creme in a BIG mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Place all other ingredients in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes, and stir occasionally. Then pour over PB & creme mixture. Stir thoroughly until all the solid components are melted.
3. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and chill at least 2-3 hours. (As you can see, this makes a HUGE recipe. So there is plenty to share. Your neighbors, friends and family will love (and hate) ;) you for it.)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
special date night
While sitting in the dentist's chair, I overhead an ad on the radio advertising Michael Buble in concert in our area in just 3 weeks. AHHH! On my way home I called my husband and suggested we get tickets to this special event to celebrate our special event, our upcoming 9th Anniversary. (We like to do special dates like this occasionally rather than just the same ol' dinner and a movie date.)
Hubby snatched up that idea and we bought tickets that night! They'd apparently been on sale for a couple months but our tickets were still pretty good.
Michael Buble is probably one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) entertainers of all time and I've been wanting to see him in concert for a while and this was our chance. (The last time he was in the area I was just 1 month post-partum with Jackson, so that was a "no go". This time I'm about 7 months pregnant with boy #2 and it worked out great! A little uncomfortable in the seats, but luckily the concert was "rockin'" enough that we were on our feet a bit.)
Hubby snatched up that idea and we bought tickets that night! They'd apparently been on sale for a couple months but our tickets were still pretty good.
Michael Buble is probably one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) entertainers of all time and I've been wanting to see him in concert for a while and this was our chance. (The last time he was in the area I was just 1 month post-partum with Jackson, so that was a "no go". This time I'm about 7 months pregnant with boy #2 and it worked out great! A little uncomfortable in the seats, but luckily the concert was "rockin'" enough that we were on our feet a bit.)
I'm not a big concert-goer, but when I do go, I see the BIG names. For example, my 1st concert was with my sister for my 18th birthday to see GARTH BROOKS! Other concerts I've seen include: Billy Joel, James Taylor, (Nickle Creek) and now Michael Buble. What a variety! But honestly, this was THE BEST CONCERT I'VE EVER BEEN TO! It was amazing! He is so talented, along with his band, WOW! He sang most of the songs from his current "Crazy Love" album, including: Feeling Good, Home, Lost, Everything, I Just Haven't Met You Yet, Sway, and about 6 other songs, including a Michael Jackson impression of "Billy Jean".
Mr Buble is so natural on the stage, great stage presence, and has a way of getting the entire crowd involved and feel like they're a part of the show. He encouraged us to get up and dance if we felt so inclined and just have a good time. After a mob rushed the stage he coached them to go back to their seats, he'd get to them later, he promised. "These people in the front rows paid GOOD money" and you need to go sit down. ALter in the show, he walked down the isle and back to the sound table area where he sang a few songs. He even picked up a lady's red blackberry phone, sang into it, then spoke to the person on the phone during a guitar interlude! IT was crazy! Can you imagine having THAT phone call? Wowza.
He'd been touring Europe for a few months and our concert was the 1st one back in the States and he said he was SO happy to be back in the States. We have the greatest fans, he said, no really. He said over and over again how we were such a great crowd for him and for his encore he sang a song I'd never heard before but it was something like "I sing this for you" and he got all emotional and teary-eyed. It was very touching and unexpected.
Mr Buble is so natural on the stage, great stage presence, and has a way of getting the entire crowd involved and feel like they're a part of the show. He encouraged us to get up and dance if we felt so inclined and just have a good time. After a mob rushed the stage he coached them to go back to their seats, he'd get to them later, he promised. "These people in the front rows paid GOOD money" and you need to go sit down. ALter in the show, he walked down the isle and back to the sound table area where he sang a few songs. He even picked up a lady's red blackberry phone, sang into it, then spoke to the person on the phone during a guitar interlude! IT was crazy! Can you imagine having THAT phone call? Wowza.
He'd been touring Europe for a few months and our concert was the 1st one back in the States and he said he was SO happy to be back in the States. We have the greatest fans, he said, no really. He said over and over again how we were such a great crowd for him and for his encore he sang a song I'd never heard before but it was something like "I sing this for you" and he got all emotional and teary-eyed. It was very touching and unexpected.
I had an awesome night with my date! We both sincerely enjoyed the concert and just being together. Happy 9th Anniversary hun! And thank you for such a special night! xoxo
turtle graham bars
These are a new EASY holiday favorite! They require a handful of ingredients and are SUPER easy and especially delicious! They'd be great for neighbors or whomeever, if your husband will let you take them out of the house! ;) I modified this recipe just a little.
Prep 15 min
Inactive Prep 30 min
Cook 5 min
Total: 50 min
Ingredients
Approximately 14 graham crackers (if each graham cracker is 5" x 2.5")
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2-1 cup chopped pecans
Kosher salt, to taste
12 oz. semi sweet baking chocolate, finely chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat (or parchment paper). Arrange the graham crackers in a single layer on the lined baking sheet.
Put the butter, brown sugar, pecans, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour the butter mixture evenly over the graham crackers and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a glass bowl placed over simmering water. (Or place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds, stir. Continue this process until your chocolate is smooth and melted. Trust me it works!) Pour the chocolate over the toffee-covered graham crackers and spread evenly. Chill completely in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Cut/break into bars.
Cook's Note: I like to sprinkle flaky sea salt over the dark chocolate layer. This would be nice if you use jsut a little and if you have FLAKY sea salt, don't use COARSE sea salt.
Yield: 12 servings
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Favorite Primary links
I've recently been released from my calling in Primary (and will now be serving in RS) but I wanted to document some of my favorite Primary sites so I can reference them in the future without having them as links on my blog.
Sugardoodle
Sofia's Primary Ideas
Little LDS Ideas
"The Friend"
My time in Primary has been very educational; I have learned a LOT, especially about myself. I look forward to tackling my calling in RS in ENRICHMENT! AHHH!
Sugardoodle
Sofia's Primary Ideas
Little LDS Ideas
"The Friend"
My time in Primary has been very educational; I have learned a LOT, especially about myself. I look forward to tackling my calling in RS in ENRICHMENT! AHHH!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
crafty moments
You could say I've been on a "crafty kick" the past month or so, and it continues! I'm loving it! Here's what I've been making.
1. Taggie Blankets- apparently, little babies enjoy finding the tag to their blankets and then that's their favorite part! The idea behind these blankets is that there are MANY tags to CHEWS from. ;)
Here's the link I based my pattern off of-
melissa sews
My friend made one of these and I knew I wanted to make 1 too! I've since made 5 and have plans for more, but these are the 1st couple I made.
I decided I like then as 12" finished squares, which means I cut them to 13" square. I use 32-40 ribbons, each cut @ 4" lengths. Depending on the width of the ribbons you may need more of less; More skinny ones = more ribbons needed, and vice versa.
2. "Hooter Hider" aka Nursing Cover
I'm very excited to put this creation to use. Where were these 3+ years ago? (Of course they've been out there for years, but I didn't know about them until AFTER I was finished nursing baby #2.) They're brilliant!
I based my pattern off of these two links-
little birdie secrets
made by the mama monster
3. Fabric-wrapped Rope Basket
I've been all over the web and cannot find anything like this to compare mine to OR to show instructions of how to make them. Sorry.
Just trust me. They're SUPER easy and mind-numbing and only requires about 6 hand stitches, a glue stick, 12' of rope, and about 40 strips of fabric. Total work time was probably about 4 hours. Thank you Sister Matthews for sharing your endless talents and supplies with all of us! We love it!
Happy Craftin'!
1. Taggie Blankets- apparently, little babies enjoy finding the tag to their blankets and then that's their favorite part! The idea behind these blankets is that there are MANY tags to CHEWS from. ;)
melissa sews
My friend made one of these and I knew I wanted to make 1 too! I've since made 5 and have plans for more, but these are the 1st couple I made.
I decided I like then as 12" finished squares, which means I cut them to 13" square. I use 32-40 ribbons, each cut @ 4" lengths. Depending on the width of the ribbons you may need more of less; More skinny ones = more ribbons needed, and vice versa.
2. "Hooter Hider" aka Nursing Cover
I'm very excited to put this creation to use. Where were these 3+ years ago? (Of course they've been out there for years, but I didn't know about them until AFTER I was finished nursing baby #2.) They're brilliant!
I based my pattern off of these two links-
little birdie secrets
made by the mama monster
3. Fabric-wrapped Rope Basket
I've been all over the web and cannot find anything like this to compare mine to OR to show instructions of how to make them. Sorry.
Just trust me. They're SUPER easy and mind-numbing and only requires about 6 hand stitches, a glue stick, 12' of rope, and about 40 strips of fabric. Total work time was probably about 4 hours. Thank you Sister Matthews for sharing your endless talents and supplies with all of us! We love it!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
mmm mmm good
A couple weeks ago I did some serious canning.
I forgot how MUCH you need to do so little. It makes me crazy.
This fall, I started with canning pears. I had 55 pears and only got 11 quarts from them, so I had to buy another bushel to can a total of 24 quarts. Sheesh! We'll have to be on rations with these, seeing as we can down a whole quart in a day, if we each have 1 serving. What can I say? They're heavenly and we can't resist!
A few days later, I helped my mother-in-law can applesauce. They have 3 apple trees in their backyard and my father-in-law picked at least 3 bushels of apples for us to can.
*The links of "how to can pears or applesauce" are not the links I used, but give you a general idea of how it's done if you don't already know.
After you wash the apples you cut out the horribly bad spots, throw them in a huge pot and cook them until they're mushy. Then you scoop them into the blessed Victorio strainer and it does all the hard work, separating the peel and core from the yummy fruit. From there you just add what sugar you want, put in your jars, and can to seal them. We ended up with 70 quarts! Wow-ie! It was a long afternoon, evening and night but it feels great to be done!
I forgot how MUCH you need to do so little. It makes me crazy.
This fall, I started with canning pears. I had 55 pears and only got 11 quarts from them, so I had to buy another bushel to can a total of 24 quarts. Sheesh! We'll have to be on rations with these, seeing as we can down a whole quart in a day, if we each have 1 serving. What can I say? They're heavenly and we can't resist!
A few days later, I helped my mother-in-law can applesauce. They have 3 apple trees in their backyard and my father-in-law picked at least 3 bushels of apples for us to can.
*The links of "how to can pears or applesauce" are not the links I used, but give you a general idea of how it's done if you don't already know.
After you wash the apples you cut out the horribly bad spots, throw them in a huge pot and cook them until they're mushy. Then you scoop them into the blessed Victorio strainer and it does all the hard work, separating the peel and core from the yummy fruit. From there you just add what sugar you want, put in your jars, and can to seal them. We ended up with 70 quarts! Wow-ie! It was a long afternoon, evening and night but it feels great to be done!
I guess I didn't take any pics of the pears I canned but they look like they did from last year's post, only more in a jar.
What an accomplishment! Feels great to be done and see them sitting on the shelf!
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